American to charge for first checked bag
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) - May 21, 2008 But rival Delta doesn't plan to match American's fee for the
first checked bag, a spokeswoman said.
American, the nation's largest carrier, said Wednesday the fee
for the first checked bag starts June 15 and that it would raise
other fees for services ranging from reservation help to oversized
bags. The other fees will mostly range from $5 to $50 per service,
the airline said.
Last month American announced it would join other carriers in
charging $25 for second bags checked for some passengers, but it
wasn't immediately clear how Wednesday's announcement would affect
that.
Its proposed fee for a first checked bag would exempt people who
belong to elite levels of its frequent flyer programs, those paying
full-fare tickets and those traveling overseas.
The planned fee on the first checked bag immediately ran into
resistance. Delta Air Lines Inc. spokeswoman Betsy Talton said the
Atlanta-based airline is considering all of its options in light of
$130-a-barrel oil, but doesn't plan to match the $15 fee American
announced.
American plans to cut domestic flight capacity by 11 percent to
12 percent in the fourth quarter. American had previously expected
fourth-quarter capacity to fall 4.6 percent from the same period in
2007.
Parent AMR Corp. said reduced flying will lead to an undisclosed
number of job cuts at both American and its American Eagle
subsidiary.
AMR expects to retire 45 to 50 planes from its fleet, most of
them gas-guzzling MD-80 aircraft. Those were the plane grounded for
faulty wiring last month.
American said rising oil prices have increased its expected
annual fuel costs by nearly $3 billion since the start of the year.
AMR shares tumbled $1.23, or 15 percent, to $6.97 after the
announcement which came as its shareholders gathered for their
annual meeting.
